Garmin Topo Germany Crackle
We manage to stay on tarmac for a whole day where the biggest challenge is avoiding the horse dung on the roads. Its one thing to have rain spin in your face from your tyre but it is worth being careful what you run over in wet conditions. The road is great fun, empty and mostly smooth (you can’t guarantee smooth even on major highways). Entering into Fagaras from the south we wonder if we have ridden straight into the bronx but we swerve the major potholes and bike as fast as we can to the city centre where things are always better. We find a fancy hotel where they don’t mind us dripping wet in their foyer and they give us a hose and garage for our bikes. Even better is the cold beer, well deserved after a 70km day.
The next morning is time to explore the Castle of Fagaras, grander in scale that Bran and cold feeling, kind of like the town. So we head out north to avoid the projects and end up on our steepest hill yet. Our speed is slow enough that the flies can land and Kerry gets bitten by the mosquitoes and Neil almost bitten by a crazy dog. It is difficult to swat and steer. Following what appears to be a secondary road on the map we reach a dead end but our stubbornness overcomes us and we can’t turn back. Plus there is that big hill we have just zoomed down.
Ключ Для Allfusion Erwin Data Modeler R7. We can see a road on the GPS which is supposedly 500 meters away and a cute old couple carrying pitch forks point us over the hill so there we go again, into the mud. We end up doing a major loop, pushing our bikes up a slippery tractor trail stopping every 20 meters to clear mud from the breaks in order to move our tyres around. At the top of the hill we find that it leads into the forest and a complete mud bath. We can see a village below and another tractor trail so we skid down in the long grass at a top speed of 5km per hour to be spat out at the village we passed through 4 hours ago.
Back in Fagaras after re-councouring the hill, we re-check into our fancy hotel, use their hose again to clean our bikes and gear and have another well deserved beer, even if we only travelled 32km. We will try again tomorrow to leave Fargaras! Going up hill to come back down the other side The Fargaras Castle. How did we end up here?!
This was what we were asking ourselves as we pushed, carried and dragged our bikes through the mud, over boulders, up a river and across a hiking trail heading high towards the ski resort of Poiana Brasov. Breaking out the full length lycra for the first time, we headed out of Brasov with warm knees. Following what we thought was a ‘road’, we are too stubborn to turn around so onwards we go, past the point where we can ride, continuing up a forest trail. Once we passed the dogs which were almost strangling themselves with their chain to get to us, there was no way we were turning back. We even take our bikes hiking (this might not make it on our recommended route!).
When we did finally exit the forest we were at the same spot as a fully clad mountain biking group who had taken the easy road. They were interested in our story and wanted to know where we had exited the bush and why our bodies and bikes were covered head to toe in mud when their full suspension bikes were perfectly clean. What doesn’t belong in this picture? The down hill sure was worth it though as we cruised on a car less road and we turned into Rasnov to a spectacular late afternoon sun shimming on the wet road. We found a friendly pension where we could hose down our bikes and gear (thank goodness for waterproof panniers). Visiting Bran was a relatively easy day as we left our bikes behind in order to hike up the hill and around the Castle. Perched on the hill as a strategic point of the mountain pass, the castle was explored in a winding path through multiple levels and hidden staircases around an internal courtyard.
The legend of Vald the Impaler and Dracula was even conjured up for the few tourists. We couldn’t find any garlic to keep around our necks so we slept with a wooden stake by the bed instead. Beautiful Bran Castle. Just for the record, we are hardcore!
Early morning heading out of the village the rain begins with a light drizzle and enough to make us stop for a costume change into our rain gear and hi viz outfits. A climb is immediately ahead and then the real heavy stuff pounds down, fat, steady, pouring rain as we slowly push our way up hill in our lowest gear. Reaching the crest of the hill we see a sign that we think says 1.5km downhill but it turns out this is 15km downhill – celebration while on a bike, even in pounding rain. With hands squeezing breaks, we still zoom down and now we are getting rained on from top and bottom as the spray from our tyres spins into our faces. We saw ‘waterproof socks’ on a packing list from another cycle tourist blog and poo-pooed them; now we understand! Getting geared up for the rain It can’t always be blue sky and sunshine We head dripping into the fortified church at Prejmer and the ticket lady believes that we all have to be a little crazy in life and she can see we are crazy so we are invited in without charge. The inside looks like a life size snakes and ladders game with dark wood staircases and doors against smooth white walls.
Sep 30, 2014. Hello Everyone. This is Birdy! I am gearing up to hike the scenic Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada this spring. I plan to start from Crazy Cook, New Mexico on April 26th, 2014. The Continental Divide Trail Coalition has pulled a permit and started. Sanremo 2018. Sanremo 2018, ecco i Big: da Elio a Fogli e Facchinetti, meno talent.Ecco i big in gara a Sanremo 2018.
We can hear before we can see the tiny lady in the church singing powerful opera in rehearsal and no one minds that we watch while we dry out. Prejmer Fortified Church Brasov brings more mediaeval musings as the grand buildings are magical in the afternoon drizzle. We dine twice in a recommended restaurant located in the cellars of the old town wall. At a cost of 64 lei ($20 AUD), our dinner includes a warming liquor, pork crackling, Transylvanian stew, beef and mushroom pancakes, apple pie and sparkling water.
The next day we return for lunch, after our banana split breakfast and pastry brunch, amazing what you can eat when you bike 3-5 hours a day! Dinner time The old walled city of Brasov. Being on our bikes make the days feel gloriously long and today we get a second wind as we head into our first serious mountains in the late afternoon. Light rain keeps us cool as we climb upwards to the edge of the Siriu dam and lake. We are rewarded with every turn in the road as we climb higher and higher for a better view. Near the top we find a roadside water fountain and Kerry takes a turn to fill our water bottles.
We cross viaducts and pass beautiful view points and have another thoroughly enjoyable ride and we don’t forget to appreciate how lucky we are. Our ride down into the valley is simply stunning, the bright sun brings out a rainbow and we have the wind at our tails. Like a dog with its head out the car window, we lap up the breeze as we hurtle down the highway. The cheap romanian roadside paint provides a faint division between us and the passing cars although many give us a friendly beep to let us know they are coming, and finally we reach a pension with hot showers and free beer. Dam Siriu Puppy at our accommodation – so cute! Bogdan takes the lead for us out of Bazau and onto the ring road out of town. We take the main red road but the cars passing are not too many, the road surface is smooth and we cruise along at a good 20km per hour pace for a long while getting closer to the green hills and rolling mountains.
First stop before heading out of town for local cheap pretzel bread A smooth easy ride At Berca, Bogdan leads us towards one of his selected highlights – the mud volcanoes. The 12km detour is full of rises and descents, a great mix of challenge and fantastic fun and the effort is well worth it. The bubbling mud pools are cold yet the underground gases have boiled over to create towers of encrusted volcanoes. Some are coated with rings of salt giving them a white crown and some have caked, cracked mud flows which have previously spewed from their tops. Others still have running streams of mud overflowing from the top pool and one looks and feels like a giant jelly, wobbling at a gentle touch.
Cold bubbling mud volcanoes After a good photo shoot we head back down to a picnic spot for a well deserved lunch and we are surprised that the road back to Berca is definitely more downhill than up and we speed along enjoying the ride. Refuelling at lunch time Our recommended campsite is up a forest road which provides a ridiculous challenge.
It is way steeper than the normally signposted 8-12% rise which are difficult enough! We head up, up, up in our very lowest gear and it becomes a personal challenge to make it, plus pushing the bike is way harder anyway. It seems hours to travel 3.5km up and we are horrified to learn that the road leads downwards as we think of the uphill back tomorrow. Luckily Bogdan has a surprise and his friends have driven out to join us and inform us that we cannot camp further down so we stop where we are and pitch our tents under the trees. Neil cooks up a delicious meal including Nutella popcorn and we sit by a roaring fire and hold pieces of pork to cook like marshmallows.
The rain chases our other guests away and leave us and Bodgen in our tents to survive the stormy night after a shower from the folding bowl and rain. Our pork ‘marshmallows’ We all wake dry and enjoy jam on toast for breakfast.
Our downhill ride happens way too fast and we exit onto the main road although we don’t get far before stopping at a terrace where we sit on swinging chairs. Bogdan helps us to decipher the menu to select traditional fare and we have local cheese, salami, corn mash and sour cream. Far Cry 3 Para Xbox 360 Download Torrent there. Our lunch fill keeps us going well into the day and along many kilometers, villages, long stretches of road and beautiful vistas of the Buzau river flowing from green valleys.
The mountain air is noticeably cooler and fresher and the cloud cover makes for perfect cycling conditions. We enjoy another traditional ciorba soup in the pretty mountain village of Nehoiu and find a perfect camp spot just out of town around the bend of the river out of sight of the road on either side. We find a flat grassy area for tents and hide our bikes in the trees and take turns at the river for a liberating shower. Our night is filled with another major storm with thunder that shakes the hills around us and lightening that lights up the whole valley. The rain pounds on our tents and poor Bogdan ends up having a tent bath, but he is an amazing character and still full of cheer in the morning. We head to the shelter of massive storm water tubes and have fun with another photo shoot.
Totally tubular Our detour today leads us up a forest route to see a waterfall and we are followed on our ride by 4 little puppies which totally break Kerry’s heart as we have to leave them behind. We share another ciorba and meal before bidding Bogdan farewell as he turns back to catch his train home. Bridge fun Beautiful Nehoiu Farewell Bogdan, until we meet again Route. Neil NEEDS a new toy. With a new project in mind we need to track our route, our evaluation and descent profile, and highlights along the way. After searching in Buzau we realise we have to make an excursion into Bucharest. We are surprised at how similar major train stations look until we realise that we have been here before almost 2 weeks ago on our way to Constanta.
We have been pre-warned that Bucharest is a major hole but we are pleasantly surprised by the beautiful architecture and Neil navigates a direct walking route to the Garmin specialised shop. The purchase is easy as we know exactly what we want. We have a yummy Italian meal (we crave pasta these days) and head back to Bazau.
Architecture of Bucharest. We do another minor skip and catch a train to Buzau for the beginning of our recommended cycle tour route through Romania. Searching for a hotel in town we are approached by a friendly local who is passionate about biking and his county. This encounter later leads to a friendship and offering of amazing hospitality. Bogdan quickly wins us over with his easy going nature and we met again the following day for lunch and a personal guide through Buzau town. Our day is further capped with an invitation to Bogdan’s family home where we are greeted warmly and immediately made to feel comfortable and honoured guests at the same time.
Bogdan’s mum has prepared a traditional delicious soup called ciorba followed by a gourmet meal and we eat under the shade of vines as the sun breaks through the cloud cover. We also share in homemade plum wine which warms us all the way down and we learn from Bogdan about the history of his country. He does an amazing job of translating for his family and us and his family are wonderful hosts.
It is a special evening for us and when we say so, they only wish to insist that we are welcome to their simple home and lives. We have now made a plan for Bogdan to join us on his bike for a long weekend and we return the next night where we are further treated to homemade sour cherry cake, so delicious that we polish off a whole plate full of slices. When we depart Bazau, along with Bogdan, we also carry 2 layers of cherry cake, 3 jars of homemade jam and lots of well wishes and hugs. With our wonderful hosts in Bazau Planning our route together in Bazau’s local park Park sculpture, part of Bogdan’s history lesson Beautiful churches and buildings of Bazau. Leaving the Delta danube for solid ground, we take a hydrofoil ride into Tulcea which is no where near as exciting as it sounds as we are encased in a hot house with seats up the front under the plastic windows. In Tulcea we are on a mission to find the post office and post home excess weight.
When we make it there, we realise it is 5pm on Friday (we don’t do watches or calendars anymore) and we can’t post until Monday. Fortuitously, this prompts us to reconsider our whole route through Romania.
We had intended to train it back to Constanta and continue along the flat roads of the Danube River. But we are hardcore now and want to head for the mountains. Plus there is a town 2 days along route for our posting needs. With Nutella bread for breakfast (a regular favourite), we purchase a service station map and head into our first major hills. We are still carrying unnecessary weight so this is a real test and we further introduce challenge with a long and hilly detour into a hic village which ends up leading us onto a dirt road.
We stock up on water in a village where beer consumption is the real occupation and head for the forest and our first free camp. We are pretty exhausted after the hills and camp as soon as we find a suitable spot out of sight and cover ourselves in bug spray while we cook up a pasta meal. Realising we have purchased fizzy water, there is no other option than to shower ourselves in bubbles. An off-road detour Our free camp in the forest, what you don’t see is us being plagued by mosquitos Morning time means less mosquitos which is good as we have run out of bug spray. A convenient picnic table provides a beautiful spot for our Sunday breakfast with a view ahead of a grand white monastery beneath the green rising hills and we can hear the sound of chanting and church bells. To our left is a garden of vineyards and forest and to our right a field of poppies. A field of poppies as our breakfast view at the base of the Monastery Our road leads us onto a forest track up into the trees.
We don’t get very far until we are off our bikes and pushing and our bike computers read 0km per hour! Our ride down gets us caked in mud and we are grateful for the cool of the forest shade.
We eventually reach asphalt road for a short way and stock up on precious water and the next few hours are glorious riding with forest on either side, light shingle on the roads and more gradient downhill than up. Heading up the forest track at 0km per hour! We are hot and dusty and smelly by the time we reach Galati but we are still welcomed by super friendly staff into the nicest hotel we have stayed in with a view from our balcony overlooking the river. We go stupid with the body wash and Kerry scrubs our clothes in foaming soap. The best sense of cleanliness comes after getting good and dirty! Arriving into Galati. The Danube delta wetlands are not really made for riding as we have to catch another ferry rather than road to Sfantu Gheorghe but we are not the only cyclists cheating as we spend the day with our Czech friends.
The place feels like an island as we set off the only paved path in the village at the dock area. Neil has his first fall into a soft landing as he bravely attempts to pedal his heavy bike through deep sand.
Laughter is the reaction which is good because it sure did look funny. We have one of our most memorable adventures heading out of here towards Sulina. We can see a road on google maps but we get mixed responses from people in the village – some ‘not possible’ and many people have no idea which confuses as as it is the only path leading out of town. But we get 2 forms of confirmation which is enough for us. Plus if we can’t get to Sulina on this road, we are here for 5 days as the ferry sailed at 7am with our Czech friends on it.
Over breakfast Neil finds a blog of a walker who has used the road. He warns of wild animals, water and viper snakes – now we are in for a real adventure! Setting off in the mid day heat we are pushing our bikes through deep sand and are approached by a man at the edge of town who lets us know that the road is the same for the next 3kms before improving. 3kms of sand is a long way! Neil provides more hilarity with another soft landing crash but we get braver and better at riding in stretches with legs pumping the pedals around in our lowest gear. It is hot, sweaty and exhausting work. Pushing bikes in deep sand The next surface provides us with a bumpy ride, at times completely nerve wracking as this is our first off-road riding and we feel for our poor bikes.
But we are constantly amazed at the way our tyres, wheels and bikes cope. Every time we ride over a rock with flicks out due to the pressure from the tyre it is a battle between rock and tyre and our tyres win every time. We quickly adapt to the theory of skimming over rocks with some speed and we even have some small stretches of shingle which make us feel like we are floating at a top speed of 14km per hour! We are happy not to see vipers but we do have to pass through a group of wild cows, bulls and horses. Under a shady spot we make up sandwiches of salami, tomato, cheese, onion and almost a few hairy black caterpillars as they drop from the tree above. Kerry has a minor freak out as they fall down her back and we agree that screams are reserved for vipers only. Wild animals, some trying to get in our lunch About 20km and 4.5 hours in we come up to our major obstacle.
A 100 meter stretch of fast flowing water across the road. First thought is to wheel our bikes through so our shoes go under the hockey straps and we creep forward. The path underwater is so slippery, Kerry gets 5 meters before almost slipping out. The new plan is for Neil to cross and come back so he inches forward while I watch from the dry edge. Making it to the middle, deepest and strongest part of the crossing, Neil has his bike under control until he has to pass a massive reed bush. In what looks like slow motion but happens quickly, the current pushes the heavy bike across the concrete track with Neil unable to get a footing, everything is quickly heading for deep river water! Neil acts quick and somehow manages to get under his bike and keeps hold of the frame with the tips of his fingers, holding it, including all packed panniers and attachments with his head out of the water.
It takes me ages to span the 50 meters to where Neil is perched where I reach over with a piece of reed and Neil uses toes to grip to the safer edge of the concrete. Making back to our start point we assess the damage – no shoes lost, no luggage lost, the side Neil held out of the water contained our passports and camera with only clothes getting wet. At the edge of the water crossing, shallowest and calmest point already getting the better of Kerry Fortunately, the only people we have seen on this road happen to be moored in a floating hotel just before the water crossing. Another miracle is that they speak english and have a small boat which they willingly load up to ferry us across. Our friendly ferry 100 meters past the flowing water Safe on the other side Back on track again we cover the next bumpy 10km without incident and relief washes over us to reach a beer and shower in Sulina. Unpacking all our panniers to dry out clothes, we make a separate pile for things to send home and things for the bin – it is amazing what you don’t need when weight = pain!
The last stretch into Sulina Leaving Sulina the next day, refreshed and clean.